AlisonPaul Builders
When moving into a new construction home built speculatively, families need to adapt to fit the home.
With a custom home from AlisonPaul Builders, it’s the other way around.
“We don’t have one house to say, well, this one house fits all. Every house we do is different because every family is different,” Ralph Busco said.
Ralph founded AlisonPaul Builders – named after his two children – in 1987, and over nearly four decades, the company has established itself as a premier custom builder in Brigantine and the surrounding area.
In talking with Ralph, it’s easy to see why.
“My motto has always been to hire the best people that I can,” Ralph said, “and also to build the home as if you own it.”
These philosophies have served Ralph well. The company never builds to spec (which Ralph calls “building to sell”), but instead works with its clients and architects to construct a fully custom dream home. “They’re getting exactly what they want and not what I want. They pick their carpets. They pick their paint,” Ralph said. “This is truly a custom home.”
Just as AlisonPaul Builders creates one-of-a-kind homes, the story behind the company itself is anything but ordinary. It all started back in 1987, when Ralph found out his home was situated on a lot zoned for a triplex. Ralph asked his wife, Kim, if they could move their entire house to a new lot in order to build three townhomes to sell on the current plot.
“You know what she said? Okay,” Ralph said with a chuckle. “All she had to say was, ‘Don’t do it,’ and I would have backed off. I would have never built if she wasn’t on board.”
The decision was the soft launch of Ralph’s career as a builder, although at first he juggled this newfound passion with his fulltime casino job. Ralph was able to quit the casino in 1996, and ever since, it’s been full steam ahead.
“We’ve done quite a bit in Brigantine. I’ve built on every part of this island waterfront, middle, bay, ocean, north end, south end,” Ralph listed. “Most of my work is in Brigantine.”
The process starts with a wishlist, when Ralph sits down with a client to find out what they envision for their dream home. The location determines the size, he said, and once that’s established, the architect gets involved.
“Architects usually take six to eight weeks. The house usually takes 10 to 12 months,” Ralph said. “With COVID and supply chains how they’ve been, nothing has really gotten back on track yet. The first thing used to be the cost. Now it’s how long and then let’s talk about the cost.”
But even with plans in place, details change along the way. That’s part of the whole customized service a client gets with AlisonPaul Builders, whether it’s as simple as adjusting a window early in the process to as complicated as adding an elevator late in the game.
“When we talk about custom, these are the things that we do,” Ralph said.
Both of Ralph’s children are attorneys – Alison in entertainment law and Paul in real estate law. After 10 years of running a real estate law practice in Brigantine, Paul focuses his efforts now as a real estate salesperson with Soleil Sotheby’s International Realty. (Read more about Paul here.)
Ever since Paul has been more involved with the building company on the real estate side of things, AlisonPaul Builders has become somewhat of a one-stop shop for clients.
“We’ve almost created another part of AlisonPaul,” Ralph said. “We can help you with the land. The architect. Build it. And you want to sell it? We can do that as well.
“This is how it’s evolved over the years.”
AlisonPaul Builders
3400 ATLANTIC BRIGANTINE BLVD., BRIGANTINE, NJ
609-266-0591
ALISONPAULBUILDERS.COM
ALISONPAULBUILDERS@GMAIL.COM